88 Point Nepean - Platforms

This information has been developed from one or more of these publications:

Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Westernport Bay Catchment (1984) by Neville Rosengren.
Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance in the Western Region of Melbourne (1986) by Neville Rosengren
Sites of Geological and Geomorphological Significance on the Coast of Port Phillip Bay (1988) by Neville Rosengren.
Sites of Environmental Significance in the Flood Plain of the Upper Yarra Valley Region (1983) by Neville Rosengren, Douglas Frood and Kim Lowe (as part of a study of Sites of Environmental Significance by the University of Melbourne for the then Upper Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Authority).

Geological heritage sites, including sites of geomorphological interest and volcanic heritage sites, are under regular revision by the Geological Society of Australia, especially in the assessment of significance and values.Reference should be made to the most recent reports. See the Earth Science Heritage section of the Geological Society of Australia website for details of geological heritage reports, and a bibliography.

Location	932578. Western end of Point Nepean, including shore platforms extending to the rock stack with the beacon.	Site 88, Point Nepean
Access	Nepean Highway.
Ownership/Managing Authority	Crown Land, Department of Conservation, Forests and Lands.
Site Description	The site encloses the tapering western edge of the Nepean Peninsula, and includes the rock stack (Beacon Rock) (isolated at high tide) and shore platforms that lie west of Nepean Hill. The geology of the area is dune calcarenite, and the cliffs, rock stacks and shore platforms display and array of limestone weathering features including pinnacles, solution pits and notches and there is a wave ramp and visor around the base of the stack. The site is of particular interest for the continuity of the shore platform which extends from the Port Phillip Bay coast to the Bass Strait coast between the base of Nepean Hill and Corsair Rock.
Significance	State. The site includes one of the geological landmarks of the Victoria coast i.e. the narrow entrance to Port Phillip Bay and illustrates the truncation of the Nepean Bay Bar. Many of the geomorphological features of Port Phillip Bay are related tot he nature of this constricted entrance, such as the Port Phillip Sands, Mud Islands, Point Lonsdale and Observatory Point. The site shows the structure of the dune rock of the Nepean Peninsula, illustrates the processes that have shaped and modified the bar and the entrance to Port Phillip Bay and provides an unusual example of a shore platform developing in contrasting wave environments. A permanent sea level monitoring transect could be established across the platform between Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay.
Management Considerations	Class 2. Detailed evaluation of the effectiveness of further artificial structures should be carried out before extending these structures towards or around Beacon Rock.
References	Keble, R.A. (1946; 1950)

Image: Sites of Significance Port Phillip Bay

Site 88, Point Nepean, the south western end of the Nepean Peninsula marking the eastern side of the entrance to Port Phillip Bay. A broad shore platform extends between Bass Strait and Port Phillip Bay between Point Nepean and the rock stack (arrow). Observatory Point (A) is in Port Phillip Bay, while to the right of the photograph is the high energy, indented, Bass Strait coast. Note the contrasting wave conditions (as indicated by the surf zone) in Bass Strait compared with Port Phillip Bay

Page top